iPhone 5 Won't Appear Until October: 10 Reasons Why

NEWS ANALYSIS: Apple could launch the iPhone 5 either over the summer or in October. But at this point, it looks like the company might actually wait until October to offer its smartphone.

Apple's
iPhone 5 is undoubtedly launching this year. The big question however is,
when this year? Some reports suggest that Apple will unveil the iPhone 5 over
the summer, since historically that has been the most common time for it to
offer such a product. Other reports, however, say Apple will most likely wait
until October or so to launch the device to give its current products some
breathing room and the opportunity to maximize sales.
Although
Apple hasn't given any indication when it might actually launch the iPhone 5,
an October release date seems to make some sense. From the competitive
landscape to the possibility of Apple launching other products over the summer,
it would appear that the fall is the perfect time over the next several months
for the iPhone 5 to appear on store shelves.

Think
it'll launch at some point before October? Read on to find out about some of the
evidence that might call predictions of a summertime release into question and
add credence to claims that the iPhone 5 will appear worldwide in October.

1. Waiting on the Galaxy S III wave
If
Samsung's mobile strategy plays out the way it should, the Galaxy S III, which
is slated to be unveiled on May 3, could have strong sales over the next
several months. With that in mind, Apple might want to wait until the Galaxy S
III wave has died down to limit the number of major competitors it needs to
face. Granted,
the iPhone 5 will likely outsell any device, but why take on a major
competitor if it can be avoided?
2. What about Amazon?

One
of the big question marks in the mobile space right now is Amazon's reported
plans to launch a smartphone sometime this year. What that device might come
with and the features it might offer have yet to be revealed. So, it might be a
good idea for Apple to wait and see what Amazonarguably its chief tablet
competitoris doing in the smartphone market before unveiling its own device.
3. Consider the iPhone 4S release dateLet's
not forget that if Apple launches the iPhone 5 this summer, it would be
little more than eight months after its iPhone 4S hit store shelves. By
offering a new iPhone just several months after the iPhone 4S' launch, Apple
might risk annoying those consumers who bought the device, thinking that they
had a year to use it before the next smartphone would launch. Waiting a year is
a much better idea.
4. Holidays, holidays, holidays
The
fact that the iPhone 4S launched just prior to the height of the
holiday-shopping season last year was a key factor in Apple's record
fourth-quarter sales. And Apple CEO Tim Cook knows it. Expect Apple to
capitalize on holiday shopping again this year with an iPhone 5 launch in
October.

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology columnist. He started writing about technology for Ziff-Davis' Gearlog.com. Since then, he has written extremely popular columns for CNET.com, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and others. He has appeared numerous times on national television to share his expertise with viewers. You can follow his every move at http://twitter.com/donreisinger.